Of Boys and Gods
by enkiduuude
Summary: In which a boy befriends a god who plays tennis and tortures people on the side. [Oneshot collection—occasionally there will be a multi-chapter story thrown in the mix] [Yukimura/Male OC] [Sanada/Yanagi]


**THE SKY IS A DREARY GREY,** and bloated rain clouds threaten to spill in a moment's notice. The sweltering air, thick with humidity, sticks to the thin white fabric of students' shirts.

It's just one of _those_ days, when the weather is terrible, and time seemingly comes to a halt. Still—the tennis club continues to train, even under such miserable conditions. After all, with the school motto being "Always win, Rikkaidai", there's no room for breaks.

Aoi Kikkou watches them from the rooftop, cooling himself with a portable electric fan he bought at a one-hundred-yen shop. They're doing swing drills that will, if he remembers correctly, eventually transition into serving sessions. Their routine is repetitive and precise; every now and then things will be changed up, but the formula is essentially the same.

Had Aoi accepted Seiichi Yukimura's offer to manage the club, perhaps he'd be down there with them as well, heating up like the pavement beneath their soles.

"Kikkou-senpai, I'm gonna go to the gym since it looks like it'll rain soon. Is that fine?" asks a first-year girl who'd followed him to the rooftop, breaking his train of thought. This particular girl, according to her own words, had never even touched a _trowel _before—she only joined because nothing else interested her. The fact that she even _asked_ to skip club activities in the first place was a surprise in itself.

"Uh, sure, I don't have a problem with that," he replies, watching her skip away with a merry tune. When she's gone, his gaze returns to the tennis courts below him. As he'd expected, their swing drills had transitioned to serves.

From his vantage point, he can almost make out the regulars from the nonregulars. Unlike some other schools in the area, Rikkai's tennis club members donned identical apparel, meaning the regulars and nonregulars were no different in terms of appearance. However, after getting to know Seiichi and his teammates in the hospital, Aoi has come to recognize their faces.

The youngest of the group, Akaya Kirihara, is on a different court. His hair is a black mess of curls that resemble seaweed, though anyone who'd dare to say that out loud is susceptible to a fist in the face. Violent and short-tempered, Akaya had intimidated Aoi when they first met—but after getting to know each other, Aoi eventually came to understand that Akaya was just simpleminded.

Playing on the opposite side of the net is Renji Yanagi, whose eyes are perpetually closed. Aoi can still remember the first day they met, when the former had been able to accurately predict everything he was going to say in the blink of an eye. It was an incredible experience, yet disturbing all the same.

There is also the doubles team, Masaharu Niou and Hiroshi Yagyuu. The two were always together, despite their differences. Masaharu, a walking enigma, was often speaking vaguely and pulling Aoi into looping conversations. Hiroshi, on the other hand, spoke bluntly, though exerting politeness at the same time. Then there was the second doubles team, Bunta Marui and Jackal Kuwahara.

Bunta, a redhead with an affinity for sweets, had once spilled juice on Aoi after a collision in the hallway. Though his nonchalance towards the situation seemed rude at first, he did offer Aoi a sincere apology, as well as money for dry cleaning. Following the incident, they met again at the hospital and quickly became friends upon discovering both considered Seiichi a valuable friend.

Similar to Bunta, Aoi also met Jackal in the hospital. He, among his teammates, had stood out as the most kindhearted and soft-spoken. It came as a pleasant surprise, since Aoi's initial impression of Rikkai's tennis club hadn't been as positive as it was now—especially since Gen'ichirou Sanada was filling in as captain at the time.

When they first spoke, Gen'ichirou's presence was overwhelming. The way he carried himself, so confidently yet with much discipline, it made him seem much older than he really was. Although, the same could be said of Seiichi as well. Both boys were elegant in the way they behaved, prestige and honor basically carved into their bones. It did always feel strange being in the same room as them, like witnessing a joining of arms between two gods.

However, with time, even Gen'ichirou grew accustomed to Aoi's presence. No longer would his shoulders stiffen at the sight of the brunet—rather, they'd lower, the creases between his eyebrows even disappearing.

Despite refusing Seiichi's offer to manage the tennis club, somehow, Aoi had grown fond of them anyway. Perhaps it was because of his desire to fit in with a team of his own, since his injury had forced him to quit volleyball. Of course, there was no doubt he missed it—from the squealing of rubber soles on the freshly polished floor to the tall, tall nets; the smell of salonpas to the deafening cheers of a packed audience. It was something irreplaceable, having already settled deep inside his soul.

But there was no doubt the tennis club had become something special to him as well. _Especially_ their captain, Seiichi Yukimura. The two had first met when Seiichi was returning a vase of daisies that were misdelivered, though at the time Aoi had been suffering the side-effects of heavy medication. Following their first encounter, they begun to talk. Partly due to boredom, and partly due to their similar situations. Like Aoi, Seiichi wasn't expected to go back into tennis.

His illness was not yet diagnosed but had similar symptoms to that of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Whenever he walked, it was painful—like walking across a bed of jagged rocks, Seiichi had described once. If he were to continue playing tennis, it would rip his body apart…

Though it didn't really matter to Seiichi. His determination to play once more was borderline fearsome, albeit, simultaneously admirable. Always, he'd tell Aoi that he _would_ beat the odds and stand on the court again. Not out of passion, not out of love nor spite, but the mere desire to _conquer._

Which always confused Aoi. Who played a sport to _conquer_ things? And what were they "conquering"? Wins? Courts? Other players? The phrase was always strange, but somehow, whenever Seiichi said it, it would make all the sense.

Thunder rumbles across the sky, and Aoi snaps out of his daze. Looking up at the darkening clouds, he stands to his feet and tucks the portable fan into his pants-pocket. It would rain soon, and he didn't want to be outside when it did. Then his gaze lowers, and he watches those on the tennis court one last time.

Come wind, sun, rain, snow—they would always be down there.

And with time, so would Seiichi Yukimura.

* * *

**A/n (please read):**

**\- On a previous account, I had written a collection of oneshots called _Of Sunflowers and Daisies,_ which were about my male OC and Seiichi Yukimura. This is basically a rewrite of that, but as an extension of my "main" story, _Of Monsters and Boys._ Essentially, this story is an AU where Aoi refused Seiichi's offer to join the tennis club, instead joining the gardening club.**

**\- Yes, his name is no longer "Hitoshi Matsumoto" or "Itsuki Matsumoto". No, this is not a different OC. Same OC, just a different name.**

**\- In _Of Sunflowers and Daisies,_ he was rather... docile. So this time, I want to portray him as someone who's confident and admirable. **


End file.
